Could someone help me out please understanding what our draft pick situation is with the 2012 Draft. I thought I understood it.

As I saw it, we give the Minnesota pick (we have been waiting for years to become unprotected this year) to New Orleans as part of the CP3/EJ trade. I wasn't aware of the situation with our draft pick so went to Real GM to try and understand and boy am I confused now!

REAL GM's Explanation:

2012 first round draft pick to New Orleans
The Los Angeles Clippers trade the more favorable of the Los Angeles Clippers' own 2012 1st round pick and Minnesota's own 2012 1st round pick to New Orleans. [Los Angeles Clippers - New Orleans, 12/14/2011]

2012 first round draft pick from Minnesota
Minnesota's own 2012 1st round pick to the L.A. Clippers. [LA Clippers - Minnesota, 8/12/2005]

2012 first round draft pick to Boston
The Los Angeles Clippers' own 2012 first round draft pick to Boston via Oklahoma City (top 10 protected in the 2012 draft, top 10 protected in 2013, top 10 protected in 2014, top 10 protected in 2015 and unprotected in the 2016 Draft). In addition, if the Los Angeles Clippers are required to send their 2012 first round pick pursuant to the above and are also entitled to receive Minnesota's own 2012 first round draft, then Boston via Oklahoma City shall receive the lesser of the Los Angeles Clippers' own 2012 first round pick and Minnesota's own 2012 first round pick. [L.A. Clippers -Oklahoma City, 6/24/2010 and then Boston - Oklahoma City, 2/24/2011]

Could anyone explain this in normal terms to me please. It's the pick to Boston and the pick switch were I start to lose the will to live!

Is the bottom line that we don't have any chance of picking in the first round?

Thanks in advance.

I was listening to the latest NBA Today podcast with Mike Yam and Tim Legler earlier at the gym and they were talking about the effect the shortened season is going to have on particular teams and it then got me thinking about our roster makeup and how we are suited for the effects of this squashed-in regular season (this was in between sweating some of my extra pre-Christmas treats calories off!).

When the excitement of the CP3 and Billups pickups calmed down, a number of people here were looking at our roster "inbalance" and suggesting we package up a combination of one of more of the following - Mo/Foye/Bledsoe/Gomes - in order to get another quality backup big. While we certainly needed another big (possibly two), trading away our guard rotation could have come back to haunt us later in the season.

When I look closely, I think the FO have done a superb job this year in looking at the demands that are going to be placed on the roster and balancing it accordingly.

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Just a thought so don't go crazy if you don't agree BUT, would it be worth seeing if Minny swaps picks - their No.2 pick this year for the unprotected 2012 pick we own of theirs next year.

For them, Derrick Williams plays the same positions as their two best players so doesn't fit their current need. Chad Ford and others are also saying they are willing to talk about potentially moving it.

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Whilst I've been very impressed with EJ since we drafted him 2 years ago,I felt that last year, he didn't take much of a leap forward from his rookie year. Now obviously, if we are honest, it's not exactly been a good couple of the years and so the lack of success, roster changes and chemistry issues certainly can't have helped the development of such a young player.

It also seems thats at this point in his career/life, he doesn't seem to have that aggressive streak to take charge of a game, demand the ball and showcase his skills at the end of the game (and his skill set is perfect for those crunchtime moments in that he can hit the 3 or can drive to hoop and finish with the +1). For me, that is partly due to how I percieve his character and partly because we have such a dominant personality in the PG position.

However, now he is mixing with a higher quality of player on Team USA, he seems to be thriving and the reports back, as I'm sure you have read, have displayed how impressed the coaching staff are with his skill set and work ethic.

I'm hoping that this added confidence in his own ability and the fact he has seen he can hang with some of the top players in the league quite comfortably will transfer back onto the court with the 2010/11 Clippers.

For this to transpire to it's fullest, we need Baron to understand how to get the most out of EJ's talents. I've been very critical of Baron's shot selection, especially in his first season but last year, his shot selection improved substantially, in my opinion.

Utilising the talents of EJ and Blake (as they will be the two main scoring options) will only help Baron get better looks also, as long as we can move the ball better, earlier in the shotclock.

However, it also relies on EJ himself pushing his personality onto the floor more. I think he could be one of the best crunchtime finishers in the NBA in the next few years.

The breakout of EJ on team USA and the return of Blake (arrival of Blake?) have got me very excited for the upcoming season. As long as Blake and EJ develop something along the lines we are expecting, there aren't many teams in the league that will have such a good 1,2 scoring option that aren't showcasing their talents on South Beach.

I wouldn't normally dare create a fanpost about another sport (some have done it before and never been seen again after Steve Vader has dealt with them) but this is different. I'm hoping a few of us Clipper fans can have a bit of banter over the game.

The teams have been announced:

England:Green, Johnson, Terry, King, Cole, Milner, Gerrard, Lampard, Lennon, Heskey, Rooney

USA: Howard, Cherundolo, DeMerit, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Donovan, Bradley, Clark, Dempsey, Altidore, Findley

Enjoy people (and don't hate the english for BP - they are an international company, they just originate from the UK!)

This trade has a number of us scratching our heads over the fact it doesn't improve our team at all.

What I'd like to do though is take a moment to thank Marcus Camby for all the effort he put in as a Clipper.

He is one of the best players I've seen in my 10 years as a Clipper fan. There were times last year when he seemed the only player on the roster actually trying to play basketball to the best of his ability.

He was a leader. Maybe not vocally but by example. A great locker room presence by most accounts I've read to.

A mentor for DJ also. The more I write the more I get pissed that he's gone.

Some part of me was hoping that he'd resign and then move into a coaching role for our bigs. Lets face it, he's one of the top 2/3 rebounders in the NBA at the age of 35.

There is definately a science to rebounding, learning the angles the ball comes off the rim and Camby's long arms, agility and sheer bloody determination has lead to many occassions where he has stolen rebounds off his opponents and sometimes his teammate. That doesn't bother me one bit. Give me someone with that determination anyday.

His weird flippy little jumper is unusual but he hit it a fair few times for us.

I just wanted to say thank you Marcus Camby. You are a class act and will be sorely missed in LA.

If the management haven't pissed you off too much, please come back in the off season, we'd love to have you finish your career here.

Dunleavy - your plan had better be good cos I'm hating this team more and more as each week goes by.

Well yes, all the talk today is going to be about Blake being out and yadda yadda yadda. Yep, I'm concerned too but if it means having him back fully fit next year then do it. He's going to be our franchise guy, why risk things on a shot at 8th place? That's my opinion anyway.

Still, I wanted to put down how impressed I am with the marked improvement in Rasual Butlers play over the last 10 games or so. He's really looking like the peice that we moved for in the offseason and I think that in some ways, this is the perfect role player for our SF position. Or some like to use the term Glue Guy.

I was watching his on the ball D last night and was very impressed with his footwork and his ability to work around screens on defensive rotations. That is exactly the sort of defender we need. You look at Baron playing better D, Rasual playing better D and Eric doing his thing and I don't think it's a coincidence that our W L columns have been much improved recently.

Also, after a horrible shooting slump at the start of the season where I thought that he might have had his career shooting year last year, he has now picked his way out of this and seems much more confidence in his shot.

A quick look at the stats back this up. Shooting FG% of 34.6 in November and then 46.7 in December and over 44.4 so far in Jan. For 3's, he jumped from 25.8 to 39.7 during the months of Nov/Dec. That is a marked improvement.

For me, to try and keep positive today, I'd like to look at this, one of our major success stories of the season (probably behind Kaman and Baron I know) but when everyone is fit next year, I would like us to commit to have Rasual at the 3 behind our core, as he doesn't constantly need to ball but does all the complimentary things we require.

Your thoughts Clipper Nation once you have put your Blake Griffin jumpers in the laundry this morning?

Hi Clips fans,

We've been let down by 3 guys who signed up for the Clips Nation Yahoo Fantasy League and haven't bothered to login or respond to my messages. If you are interested in taking over one of the 3 teams, email me at clippertalkpodcast@gmail.com and I will let you know the rosters and you can pick one. It's a H2H league with 8 basic categories.

[Edit] I've just checked the rosters and two of the teams are very good!! Much better than mine! They went 4-4 in week 1 with no -one managing them (one team has LeBron and the other Wade!). The 3rd team is also decent with Dirk and went 3-5 in week 1.

Thanks, Gavin (Clippers UK) - bottom of the league already with a 1-7 week!!!!

Is anyone going to have any fantasy H2H leagues setup this year on Yahoo or ESPN?

Don't know if you guys do them (I'm guessing some of you MUST) as I wasn't around at the start of last year so ended up joining some leagues with strangers which is never good as they drop out when it's not going well!

If anyone has leagues waiting for people to join and you've got spare spaces then please let me know or if anyone wants to put together a new league, I'd be willing to create it.

UPDATE: I've setup a new Yahoo league. Please feel free to come and join. It's a Head to Head Category league with 8 pretty standard cats and Assist/TO, which I like! It's currently setup for 16 teams and I've had to put a draft time in but ignore that as that can be changed to try and suit at a later time. League votes on trades and no max for them, although 80 is the limit for max moves. Also, the playoffs will be Weeks 21/22/23 (leaving the last week out) for 8 teams to compete in.

If you are interested, then drop me an email at gavinadam_jackson@yahoo.co.uk and I'll send you a league invite. Have to be on a first come, first served basis guys and gals.

The one things I ask is that please only sign up if you intend to see the season through - nothing worse that playing in a league where loads of people drop out!

Good luck guys.

http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/clipsnationcitizens

I felt like this FanPost from Citizen ClippersUK was a good candidate for the front page.  August is a good month for musing on philosophical NBA topics, and what could be more philosophical than the nature of the salary cap and it's impact on competition.  I'm going to jump in at the end of the post with some of my thoughts, rather than putting them in the comments.  Hey, it's my blog.  I can do that.

This is a post I've been wanting to write for a while but this article on nba.com has given me a reason to write this. Please be aware (and therefore not too critical) of my lack of understanding of all the nuances of the NBA salary cap - I'm writing this as I see it.

Whilst looking at the different payroll levels for all the nba teams on hoopshype, I noticed that not suprisingly, the teams favoured to go far in this years playoffs are all the teams at the top of the list. This is the Lakers, Cavs, Celtics, Spurs, Magic and to a lesser extent the Jazz and Hornets.

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Remember the Cavs team colour changes when LeBron arrived as the number one pick, representing the dawning of a new era in Cleveland?

Well, I'm not sure if this has been brought up before (apologies if it has), but I'm not sure why the Clippers haven't gone down this route.

The benefits are the positive symbolisation of a new era, the merchandising revenue that would come in and sending a message out that this team aren't associated with the Clippers of the past.

Now, don't get me wrong on that last part. History is important. Your history plays a large part in where you are going. The thing is, it's not been a short period of diversity. We have been the laughing boys and butt of jokes for far too long.

There is a great positive vibe around the ball club this off season and I think we should capitalise on this now with a uniform revamp and maybe a change of colours.

Sterling is like a cartoon character with $ signs in either eye. I'm sure this would bring in loads of dosh into his retirement fund.

Love to know what the Clipper Nation think?

Well, I've only been posting on this site since Dec last year (just a shy retiring viewer before that) but I've gotta say that it's a really great vibe at the moment across the fans here and it's nice to see after the suffering a Clipps fan goes through.

It only seems like yesterday when the Elton thing happened and the hatred and dispondancy that was on these boards and others. Then the process of grabbing any player, ignoring character flaws and team fits and scrabbling a roster together.

Look how far things have come from there. Some of it has been luck (Blake), some of it has been luck (trading our good expirings for Zach and then finding a mug to take him off our hands) and some of it has been some bloody hard work on getting deals sorted by our FO.

It seemed for years that they wouldn't make any deals, hands tied by DTS or the inability of the FO to attract the right players for the correct roles.

Here we are, discussing whether it's good to sign Iverson or Sessions for the MLE whilst we've got one of the best front courts in depth and talent in the NBA (arguably in the top 3 now with Smith), we've got two young talents in AT and Eric, a determined PG with a point to prove, Trade Exception money, Cap Space for next year and Minny's pick in our back pocket.

The 19 win season last year was my lowest point as a fan in the 10 years I've followed the team and I don't get to go to games like you guys due to living in London.

However, it's great to see such positivity in you guys on the boards. It looks like Zhiv's optimism has rubbed off onto the franchise and long may it continue.

Look, I've got to write something positive. All this depressing news around the team justs paints a bleak picture everytime I think about the Clipps.

So, I wanted to bring up one of the only peices of good news I've seen recently and that is the play of Mike Taylor.

Just so you know, I've not really been a fan of his since he was drafted. Too often I'd see this super human six million dollar speed merchant dart around the court but with no poise and poor decision making skills. He didn't seem to be able to see a pass or hit a shot with any regularity.

However, whilst the team have shown how pathetic they really are recently, Mike has shown like a little second round star and made me think he's got an important part to play in this teams future.

Look at Rajon Rondo. Granted, he's got 3 all stars around him but he's got similar build and speed to MT. It shows a player like Mike can be a starter in the NBA with the right players around him. I'm impressed by the way he seems to be maturing whilst still using his gifts and enjoying his basketball. He's come from the D league so he's not grown up as an overpaid pre-madonna but someone who's taken some knocks and come back. This gives him some grit and determination. He's also striking up a good understanding with DeAndre.

So, where does he fit in. Well, the core of players I'd like to see go forward from here would be

• DeAndre Jordan
• Zach Randolph
• Eric Gordon
• Mike Taylor
• Mardy Collins
• Steve Novak

To me, everyone else is tradeable. There is no point keeping Kaman as he never plays so it's a waste of money. Camby is going to decline so won't be here when this team develops. Baron has improved but unless he comes back a lot fitter next season, what is the point.  I can't say where I'd like to put Ricky Davis but it isn't on this roster. Still unsure about Thornton and his future. The team plays ok when he's not in it but then he comes back and has good games. Shot is still too inconsistent and I'm not sure his b'ball IQ will every improve.

So, I think with another season as backup PG, MT could have a starting role here in the future. It's fun to think of a coach that likes a more running style of basketball with MT and EJ on the court and DJ hitting those alley-oops. Well I can dream....

Was reading the 3 shades of Blue Grizzlies site and came across this article showing ratings for Sports Blogs. Having a look down (and checking some out as I've no idea what they were), it appears young Clipper of the Steve variety has taken this site to 3rd highest of any team basketball page.

Congrats CS and keep up the good work mate.

I'm sure in his award winning acceptance speech he'll mention his minions that post.................

http://3shadesofblue.com/20090304352/memphis-grizzlies/march-2009/exclusive-wikio-sports-blog-rankings.html

It's just struck me that due to Al Jefferson's ACL injury, the chances of the Wolves dropping in the standings are quite high, considering anyone below 9th in the West has a pretty similar record.

This will mean that not only will we not get that Jaric/Cassell Top 10 protected pick this year, there is a chance we may not get it next year (if Jefferson takes a long time to rehabilitate) and it probably lowers our lottery chance this year as we should overtake the T'Wolves in the W column before the end of the season.

Has an injury to a player on another team ever affected us this much?